Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He wasn’t quite sure what to expect when he blinked his eyes open, but it certainly wasn’t a clear, shimmering dome overhead, with space beyond it. A cavern ceiling would’ve been much more comfortable to see.

He wasn’t sure why.

Carefully, the teen pushed himself up into a sitting position. He blinked upon spotting the other people lying on the ground around him, and wondered who they were. Each seemed familiar, even if he couldn’t remember any specifics.

That was when he realized he couldn’t remember anything about himself, either.

He did what he could to study his own appearance: plain white socks, no shoes; form-fitting but comfortable workout clothes in dark grey, white and blue; reaching up a pale hand, he fingered short, fine black hair, and distantly wondered what color his eyes were. A nearby groan distracted him from his thoughts.

There were six people, besides him, and all in their teens. To the left was a redheaded boy with freckles, dressed in yellow flannel pajamas with little red lightning bolts on them. Beyond him was a girl with long blonde hair, in a green t-shirt, ripped up jeans, and black combat boots. There was also a dark skinned boy with close-shaved white hair, wearing a long sleeved jacket and jogging pants but no shoes or socks.

To the right was a dark-haired girl closer to his size than any of the others, with pale skin offset by the grey tank top and shorts she had on. Then there was a big, muscular boy with hiking boots, cargo pants, and a black shirt with a red letter S inside a shield outline. Lying beside him was another girl, with auburn hair a shade darker than the male redhead, and dressed in a cutesy pink and white outfit. Oh, and she had green skin.

He blinked, trying to figure that one out, when the first boy he’d seen stirred.

Groaning, the pajama-clad teen opened his eyes to stare at the dome overhead, first in idle curiosity, then confusion. “Uh...”

“Guess you don’t recognize this place either, huh?” The redhead yelped, sitting up and turning around in one movement.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“I don’t know.”

The other one stared at him, his eyebrows drawing together. “Huh. I don’t know who I am either.”

“Well, there goes my hope that you’d be able to explain all this.” He gestured to the other teenagers around them, causing the redhead’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“Are they okay?”

“Probably. I mean, it’s not like you or I were any different a minute ago.”

“Oh.” The redhead rubbed at the back of his neck, gaze lingering on the blonde girl. “Do... Do you think we should try to get them up, or something?”

“Maybe. Might as well, since I don’t see anything else to do around here.” And it was true - they were the only people inside the large dome, with nothing else present on the bare stone floor. So, the two boys set about waking up their companions. The smaller teen cackled when the redhead tried shaking the blonde awake, only for her fist to launch upward before her eyes opened, socking him in the jaw. But then it was his turn to dodge a punch, for nudging the biggest boy triggered a similar response.

Eventually, all seven of them were awake and standing, without a single clue between them as to who or where they were.

“I don’t suppose anyone else gets the feeling we all know each other?” The girl with pale skin and ice blue eyes asked tentatively.

“Yeah, I have that sense too,” the smallest of them said, walking along the edge of the clear dome, looking for some sort of door. “Kinda like I ought to recognize you guys, but nothing’s coming up in the search engine.”

“I feel the same,” their tallest member, the one with white hair, murmured.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but part of me just feels happy to be standing here.” The green-skinned girl piped up, bouncing a little on her toes. Everyone stiffened in surprise when she actually rose up off the floor a few inches and stayed there.

“Ohh-kaay, then,” the blonde with fighting instincts said. “Pretty sure that’s not exactly normal.”

“You want to talk about not normal?” The male redhead pointed to the tallest boy’s hands. “He has webs between his fingers!” The teen in question frowned, studying his odd form. Then, he revealed another surprise by reaching up and unzipping the high collar on his jacket, showing off slits in his neck.

“Gills, huh?” The smallest teen snickered. “Guess we’ve got a fish-boy among our ranks.”

“What, exactly, do you find so amusing?” The blonde snapped in his direction. “I swear, every other sound we’ve heard out of you is some kind of laugh.”

“Maybe I’m just a naturally cheerful person,” he replied, sauntering back towards the group. Halfway there, instinct took over, and he found himself flipping over to walk the remaining distance on his hands before dropping into a somersault and popping back to his feet.

The others all gaped at him.

“Fish-boy and flying girl aside, we evidently have an acrobat, too,” the redhead boy said weakly.

“How’d you do that?” The muscular teen who’d been silent so far asked him.

“Dunno. I just... Wanted to and did.” He sighed. “This is so not fusing.”

“Uh... what?”

“Means the same thing as confusing, just without the prefix.” A beat passed as he and the others all thought over the odd word choice. “Wonder how I knew that?”

“No idea, but please don’t do it again. We’re having enough trouble right now, no need to put word games on top of the rest of it.” The blonde rolled her eyes.

“I dunno, a bit of humor right now might help relieve the stress.” The acrobat beamed at his new ally, the dark-haired, pale-skinned girl.

“What would relieve my stress is knowing what the heck is going on!”

“Then I shall tell you.”

All seven of them whipped around as light flared in the middle of the dome, fading away to reveal a tall figure completely covered by a hooded white robe. Without thinking, they all dropped into battle-ready positions. The newcomer merely held up its four hands in a gesture of peace.

“I mean you no harm,” it said, in a voice distinguishable as neither male nor female. “In fact, none of you would be alive now without my intervention.”

“What are you talking about?” The redhead in pajamas demanded.

“The seven of you, I’m sorry to say, are the sole survivors of a planet-wide catastrophe which has destroyed all life upon your homeworld,” the figure explained sadly. “An ancient foe of mine feared the potential of your species, and so arranged to extinguish it.”

Despite no memory of the world that the figure spoke of, each of the teens felt a profound loss in their hearts. An entire world, gone? Their world, at that... Everyone and everything which they might remember of home...

“Were you the one to take our memories?” The green-skinned girl suddenly inquired.

“No. That is a side effect of the plague which swept your planet. Had I not removed you from the situation when I did, it would have infiltrated your muscles and nerves, removing all autonomous functions until your bodies shut down on themselves.”

“Why did you just save us?”

“Because by the time I arrived, you seven were the only ones left to save. I sensed you within a specialized bunker, one which was able to withstand the initial release of the plague long enough to give you this chance at justice.”

They all looked at him curiously over that particular statement. “Justice?” The muscular teen asked.

“Due to his growth of power, I am unable to defeat the one who attacked your world and deliver judgement upon his head. I am, however, the assigned safekeeper of certain weapons, the combined power of which might be able to best him.” As it spoke, the figure pulled from the robe’s various sleeves seven differently colored spheres. “These are the Great Rings of Power, each of which can only be worn by a host with a strong enough particular quality of character. If you are willing to avenge your homeworld, then I will gladly gift them to you for this purpose.”

The teens all exchanged uneasy glances, communicating what they thought of the offer without exchanging any words. Then, almost as one, they looked again to the figure and nodded firmly.

“Excellent.” Lifting one hand higher than its others, the robed being held out a sphere and explained the color’s significance. “Red increases its host’s natural anger, only able to be controlled by one used to channeling rage and taking strength from it.” Once released, the ring flew up from its container, hovered for a moment, and then flew straight to the muscular teen. He cautiously held out his hand, allowing the weapon to slide onto one of his fingers. The others had to look away from the burst of red light, which transformed their companion’s plain clothes into a jumpsuit of red and black. Instead of an S in the shield symbol on his chest, there was a circular design matching the one on the ring’s surface.

“Orange,” the figure continued. “Heightens all tendencies of greed within its host, only wearable by one capable of deciding between what is needed and what is wanted.” The second ring took a minute to decide, circling the remaining teens, before going to the red haired boy. His pajamas transformed into an orange and black suit, which included a mask and goggles, as well as a different design on his chest.

“The yellow ring will only be controlled by a host who employs fear among their battle tactics, inspiring it within their enemies, yet holding back when it comes to innocents.” This time, the little piece of crystal shot straight towards the smallest teen, the first of them to have woken up. His new suit was mostly black, with yellow designs on his torso, gloves, and the interior of the cape he gained, as well as the eye holes for his mask.

“Green is the color only able to be worn by one with indomitable strength of will.” The fourth ring hovered uncertainly for a few moments, until it chose the blonde girl. Her clothes became green and black leggings, a mask similar to the redhead’s, and a shirt that left her midriff and upper arms bare. A pair of gloves stretched from her elbows to the backs of her hands, leaving the girl’s fingers unrestricted, and another unique symbol appeared a little higher up on her chest than the others.

“Blue is one of the rarest powers, going to those who inspire hope within others and heightening their own levels of optimism.” This one circled the unchosen teens, finally darting over to the white haired boy’s hand. It changed his clothing into a sleeveless shirt and long pants, revealing black tattoos wrapping down from his shoulders to his wrists.

“Whoa.” The smallest teen peered closer. “Those aren’t part of your suit, are they?”

“I do not believe so,” came the thoughtful reply, before the figure in white went on.

“Indigo, the color of compassion, will raise one’s selflessness to unprecedented levels unless worn by one who knows their own limits.” This ring didn’t bother with analyzing the two remaining girls, heading straight for the shorter of the two. It gave her a long staff to hold, in addition to clothing her in a black and purple jumpsuit patterned similarly to the first couple boys to receive their rings.

“And lastly, pink, also called the Star Sapphire, can only be worn with one who fully embraces love, seeing it as a mighty force in its own right.” The final ring immediately went to the green-skinned girl, turning her clothing into a black jumpsuit with pink designs and a large, hooded cloak.

“There!” The figure proclaimed proudly. “Great warriors, each of you, and I do not doubt the success of your new mission-”

“Uh, that’s great and all,” the blonde girl interrupted their benefactor. “But exactly how do these things work?”

“They act in concert with the bearer’s mind to create hard-light constructs of whatever it is you need.”

The teens again looked amongst themselves, wondering how to interpret that statement. Then their member in pink took a deep breath, concentrating hard. Seconds later, light sprang forth from her ring, coalescing into the three dimensional form of a flower. The others made noises of awe and approval, each moving to try out the trick for themselves. Soon enough, all manner of inanimate objects were made, everything from books to a football to a plate of sandwiches. This last one came from the boy in orange, whose stomach rumbled and set the others off chuckling.

“Don’t suppose you’ve got a fridge or pantry or something around here, do ya?” He asked the robed figure with a sheepish grin.

“No. But I can summon sustenance for you all before beginning your journey.” A white arm stretched out, and with another flash of light, there appeared a long table covered over with food: salad greens and hot dogs and bowls of fruit, along with easily a dozen more items.

Faster than any of the other teens could move, their orange-clad member blurred forward, making his way around the table and scarfing down enough food for three meals.

“Huh. Why does it not surprise me that Zippy there’s got something weird up with him too?” The smallest teen smirked, before the expression turned into a frown. “Hey, I don’t suppose you know what our names are, do you?”

“I am afraid I do not,” the white figure apologized. “But, surely it should not be too difficult to choose new designations for yourselves.”

“Why don’t we just go with the colors of our rings?” The girl with the staff suggested. “Like, I could be Indigo.”

“And call me Greenie?” The blonde snorted. “If anything, Miss Floating over there should have that color for a name.”

“Hm... Miss Green. It feels, appropriate, if not quite right.” The girl in question murmured.

“I’m not going by Red.” The muscular boy crossed his arms and glowered.

“What about Shield?”

“...That’s okay.”

“Good.” Indigo nodded, then turned her gaze to the teen in blue. “Any preferences for yourself?”

He remained quiet for a moment, still studying the markings on his arms. “I believe the name Ocean feels somewhat right to myself.”

“Ocean it is. And...” She trailed off as their smallest member suddenly darted forward, leapt up to plant his hands on Shield’s shoulders, upside down, and flip over the other’s head before landing in a crouch.

“Bird,” he stated simply. “Another ‘not quite right, but close enough’, I think.”

“It fits,” Ocean said with a small smile. “Now, as for him...”

“What about, Kid Stomach?” The blonde girl suggested with a wicked smirk as their other redhead finally sated himself, having cleared two thirds of the table.

“Uh, no. What the kid called me earlier would be better than that.”

“You’d seriously go by the name Zippy?”

The redhead rolled his eyes. “No, but maybe... Zip. It’s a little short, but I could live with it.”

“How about Zipster?” Bird grinned.

“Yeah! Zipster. That’ll work. And as for you-” he leveled a finger at the girl in green, “-let’s go with Emerald.”

She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing comeback, but paused. “Hm. Actually, I kind of like it."

“What?!” The rest of them ignored Zipster’s indignant squawk, moving to the food table themselves in order to eat. And in the background, the figure in white looked on with growing delight that the plan had worked - indeed, the children’s memories should have been wiped to begin with, rather than go through that initial disastrous attempt at getting them to accept the mission...

“What. Happened.” As one, every superhero listening in to the comm frequency winced at Batman’s furious growl. At the same time, they were all exceptionally grateful not to be in the same room as the Gotham crimefighter.

“We’ve checked every available piece of security footage - one second the Team are there and just fine, and the next, they’ve vanished with no warning or clues.”

“From five separate locations?”

“...Yes. Aqualad was visiting Red Arrow, Artemis had just arrived in Star City, Kid Flash was at his aunt and uncle’s house, Superboy, Miss Martian and Zatanna were in Mount Justice, and Robin...” Superman didn’t say it, but everyone knew Robin had been home, in the Bat Cave - supposedly one of the most secure locations on the planet.

There was some indistinct grumbling, and then Batman started issuing orders. “I want each place a Team member disappeared from to be thoroughly checked over; search for traces of energy common to teleportation - zeta, magical, or otherwise. Closest League members to each location?”

“I’m on my way home, with a radiation scanner.” Flash’s tone sounded uncharacteristically grim, not that anyone could blame him.

“I’m still standing on the street where Artemis vanished, if anyone can meet me here with one of those doohickeys,” Green Arrow responded.

“Almost to your location, GA,” Lantern Jordan informed him. “With said doohickey in hand.”

“I’ll head over to check Roy’s apartment.” Black Canary sounded calm, but everyone could pick up on the steel in her voice.

“I am currently scanning the entirety of Mount Justice,” Red Tornado added. “Results are currently appearing negative, but I shall run more tests and report in should anything change.”

“Good. Everyone follow Tornado’s example - call in anything you find, no matter how trivial it may seem.” Orders delivered, Batman immediately signed off to conduct his own investigation in the Cave. He hadn’t been present when Dick vanished, having still been in bed later than usual that Saturday morning - the woman standing beside him being a big reason for that.

“Bruce, I’m so sorry.” Selina swallowed painfully. “If I hadn’t made you lie in with me...”

“We don’t know that that would have changed anything.” He sat back and sighed, pulling the cowl from his head. “Aqualad, Artemis and Kid Flash were all mere feet away from others when they disappeared. Likely, had I been down here, he’d have vanished right in front of me.”

“Still...”

“Assigning blame isn’t going to help get Dick or any of the Team back.” Bruce stood, setting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before moving to retrieve his scanning equipment. “And we will get them back.”

“Damn straight we will.”

Chapter Text

“YAAA-HOOOOO!” Zipster hollered as he and Bird raced through the asteroid field, moving so fast they were both mere streaks of orange and yellow light.

“If you two dorks crash into one of those, I am so not cleaning up the mess!” Emerald yelled at them.

Beside her, Indigo snickered. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle any messes they make.” Currently, the seven teens were flying down the length of the solar system’s asteroid belt, heading for a particular point where they’d then be going in a straight line to track down their prey. Bird and Zipster were enjoying themselves by racing forward, then doubling back, and rocketing ahead of the group again. Emerald and Indigo were keeping together, wondering and talking about random things that drifted into their minds. Close by, Miss Green and Shield were holding hands as they flew, though neither could understand or explain why, while Ocean was a bit above their heads so as to keep an eye on everyone else.

All of a sudden, their member in pink started to hum a tune, causing the others to look at her strangely.

“Miss Green?” Ocean asked, dropping a bit lower so as to be beside her. “Have you remembered something?”

“Mm, I’m not sure. All I know is that this feels like an adventure we’re embarking on, and music without words bubbled up inside my head!”

“Can you hum it again?” Bird asked, slowing down just ahead of them, Zipster joining him a moment later.

The girl started the slow tune over again, and kept repeating it - joined, on the second time around, by Bird singing aloud:

“Bum, ba da dum, ba-daaa dum, bum, ba da dum, da dumm. Bum, ba da dum, ba daa-da dum, da dum, ba da dum, ba dumm.” By the end of the fourth round, all of them except for Ocean and Indigo were singing it as well.

“Okay, that’s really weird,” Emerald stated once they’d finished. “How do so many of us know that song? And why can’t we remember any words to it?”

“Maybe it doesn’t have lyrics,” Bird mused, almost to himself. “What if it’s background to a- dang it, what’s the word? Moving pictures, on a screen, some longer than others-”

“Television!” Miss Green chirruped. “And movies!”

“Right, that’s it! What if we’re remembering the music for a movie?”

“Soundtrack,” Shield murmured. “I know that word. It’s a soundtrack, to something we all must have seen.”

Indigo huffed and crossed her arms. “Well, most of us, anyway.”

“Aw, don’t worry Indi, you’ll probably remember something too,” their Yellow Lantern smirked.

“Do you think more stuff might come to us? All of us?” Zipster spoke up, a tense look on his face.

“Probably. I mean, we already know that the plague didn’t kill us, didn’t even have that much time in our systems. If stuff like the soundtrack is already showing up, who’s to say we won’t recall everything about ourselves?”

Ocean nodded in agreement with Bird’s reasoning. “It will likely take certain events to jog particular memories, such as Miss Green’s feeling of being on an adventure, and then her humming to trigger the same tune within your minds.”

“So why wouldn’t you guys have seen the same movie, I wonder?”

“We know Ocean’s a fish-boy,” Emerald pointed out. “Maybe they don’t have movies where he’s from.”

“But, I look just like the rest of you,” Indigo reminded her.

“...Sheltered childhood, maybe?” Bird offered on a whim, and their friend thought it over for a minute.

“That... Fits. I mean, really fits.” She finally said. “I think... I got a flash of... a top hat?” None of them quite knew what to make of her image, and the group fell into silence once more, as they covered millions of miles in minutes. After a little while, their rings all let out a harmonic chime, the signal that the figure in white had said would let them know they’d reached the jumping off point for their journey.

“You guys ready to kick these babies into high gear?” Zipster grinned at them, receiving grins and nods in return. “Alright then - charge!”

With seven identical blasts, the teens took off at lightspeed.

From the base within the asteroid the youths of Earth had awoken on, the figure in white grinned as the energy signatures from the stolen rings departed the Sol System. Their master’s plan was going perfectly - in a week’s time, the children would reach Ammrym, and unknowingly bring about the end of all life in the universe.

At the end of their third day of flight, all the teens agreed that they needed to stop. Something within their rings provided the seven with the energy they needed to keep functioning during that time, but there was no denying a psychological, if not physical, need for food.

And water.

And a rest.

And probably a bathroom break after those other things.

(Although it did take them all a few moments of consideration after Bird said the word to actually remember what exactly a bathroom was.)

At any rate, they sought out whatever nearest planetoid would be safe to stop on, their rings providing direction. Before locating a reasonable planet, though, the teens found something else: a transport cruiser, under attack from three smaller ships intent on causing chaos and destruction.

“I don’t know about anyone else,” Emerald growled, cracking her knuckles. “But the sight of something like that wants to make me step in and give those scumbags a lesson in manners.” She got noises of affirmation from the others, and then Ocean was snapping out battle orders.

“Shield, Bird, Emerald, go after the pirate vessels and disable them. Miss Green, Indigo, protect the passengers and clear the besieged ship of any invaders. Zipster, you and I will recover any stolen goods from the pirates and then push the civilian craft away to safety. Go!” They scattered.

Bellowing in fury, Shield’s method of disabling his chosen target was to ram straight into it, creating multiple teen-sized holes through the outer plating, the interior decks, and the engines. Emerald maintained her distance, using her ring to fire projectile blasts at the various steering mechanisms, snarling insults under her breath all the while. As he cackled in delight, Bird got up close and personal, busting into the command deck of his chosen ship.

“Time for your little payday to turn into some pay-back!” Alien pirates shouted fearfully, bolting from the room as Bird ripped apart all of their control panels and consoles.

Meanwhile, Miss Green and Indigo made a pink and purple blur through the passenger ship, knocking pirates away from terrified civilians and offering reassuring smiles where they could. At one point, while her green skinned companion flew on to deposit captured crooks back onto their own ships, Indigo held up long enough to hand a slightly singed doll back to a sniffling child. She received a hug for her kindness, before returning to her task.

As Zipster made use of both his ring and his natural speed to dash through the pirate vessels, grabbing up goods that obviously didn’t belong there (and a few other things besides), Ocean remained out in space, forming three separate slides for his orange companion to toss the recovered items onto. The cargo then went down and back into the passenger craft through holes made by the initial ambush. When Zipster arrived back at Ocean’s side, though, the taller teen had to raise an eyebrow at the various foodstuffs, knick-knacks, and weapons following along in an orange bubble.

Zipster caught his look, glanced back and forth between the stockpile and his friend, before shrugging. “What? We already decided we needed food.”

“And the rest?”

“Well, I figure that the less well-armed the pirates are, the better!”

Ocean pointed to a game board and accompanying pegs, his dubious expression gaining strength.

The younger teen grinned weakly. “Souvenirs?”

“I can’t believe you made me give most of that stuff to the civilians,” Zipster muttered, scuffing one of his boots against the other in the absence of actual ground. Ocean simply ignored him, joining Indigo and Miss Green in waving farewell to the people aboard the ship they’d just finished saving.

Thanks to translators within their rings, the teens had been able to converse with the captain of the transport vessel, who thanked them profusely. She offered the seven passage to the nearest spaceport, which the youths were forced to decline, as it was perpendicular to the direction in which they needed to go. They explained about their homeworld’s inhabitants being wiped out by a monstrous entity, and the mission they’d been set upon to bring the perpetrator to justice. The alien woman’s eyes had lit up at that, saying something about finally understanding why so many Lanterns were in one place together.

So, while they were unable to gain a lift, the teens did receive heartfelt gratitude from all the passengers, as well as a bag each to carry provisions in (Zipster, though ordered to give up most of his ‘souvenirs’, was allowed to keep the game board and tuck it within his new pack). The ship then departed, with a promise to inform local authorities at the spaceport to come pick up the stranded pirates.

“Well, I’m glad that turned out well!” Indigo said cheerfully as they set out once more. Shield grunted.

“Wish I’d gotten to smash things a bit more,” he muttered.

“What, that initial charge not enough for ya, big guy?” Bird snickered, then had to duck a swat Emerald aimed at the back of his head.

“Enough,” Ocean ordered with a small smile. “We need to make up for lost time. Eat if you wish, and then we’ll need to return to travelling at lightspeed.”

“Right-o, boss-fish.”

Entering his apartment with a sigh, Hal didn’t even bother heading for bed - he simply flopped face first onto the sofa. Just as the man was approaching the blissful state of sleep, however, his ring chimed.

He rolled over, biting back a groan, and answered the incoming transmission. “Yes?”

*Lantern Jordan. This message is going out to all members of the Corps concerning an incident at the juncture between Sectors 2814 and 2977. Eyewitnesses aboard the vessel Elerdyo reported being saved from an overwhelming pirate attack by a group of seven Lanterns, each bearing a ring of a separate color of the Emotional Spectrum. The origins of this group are unknown, only that they apparently come from a world where the native population was wiped out by a devastating plague, engineered by some unknown entity that the group now pursues in the direction of the Retaris System. The captain of the Elerdyo claimed that they were all young and, as of yet, not enslaved to the emotions of their rings.

*All members of the Green Lantern Corps are to be on watch for this group, for while it is possible they will remain coherent, there lies a far greater possibility that they will be a danger to the universe as they go on. If at all possible, detain these youths, and question how they came by their power rings. End transmission.*

“Sheesh,” Hal muttered to himself. “How the hell did seven kids get rings of each color?” Deciding that he’d worry about it if and when the group came anywhere near his sector, the man rolled back over to try and get some sleep.

But, wait, the report said that the incident happened on the boundary of 2814... And that’s HERE... Seven kids... HOLY SH-

Eyes snapping open again, Hal banged his shins against the coffee table in his haste to get upright. Dashing back out of his apartment, he put on the Green Lantern ring, taking off into the sky as soon as he was fully in uniform.

“Jordan calling Stewart and Gardner, you guys up?” He transmitted, not bothering to wait.

*Mmph, what it is, Hal?* John’s response came back in a half-mumble, while Guy’s was a bit more indignant.

*C’mon man, I was just about to get some shut-eye!*

“Did you two just get the Corps-wide announcement about that weird group of Lanterns?”

*The ones that stopped a pirate attack at the edge of our sector? Yeah, what about it?*

“Did anything seem odd about that report to you guys?”

*Uh... No?* Even over the distortion of the rings’ communication system, Guy was clearly baffled, but Hal didn’t bother explaining his train of thought - he wanted to see if his older comrade could put the pieces together himself.

“What about you, John?”

*...Seven youths.*

“Exactly.”

*Whoa, wait, what are you guys talking about?*

“I’m on my way up to the Watchtower to tell the others, and to contact Oa to see if I can get anymore information.”

*And if it turns out to just to be a coincidence?*

*If WHAT turns out to be coincidence?! Fellas!*

“One hell of a similarity, if you ask me,” Hal growled. “Think about it: the Team vanishes, in such a way that we can’t find one damned thing to point at who took ‘em, and barely two days a group of seven unknown teenagers stop an act of evil right at the boundary of our territory? Add to it that I can pretty well picture which of those kids certain rings might go to, and I smell something fishy in Denmark.”

Guy had finally gone silent, realizing he wasn’t going to get an explanation any time soon. John, in the meantime, was clearly mulling it over.

*...If this ISN’T a coincidence, which of us is going to go after them?*

“I will. I’ve had more experience with other civilizations, and I’ll need you to stay with the League so I can provide updates.”

*I still have no idea what’s going on, but I volunteer to come too, Jordan. That many Lanterns, even if they are just kids, and you’ll need back-up.*

For once, Hal was willing to accept Guy’s offer of assistance. “Appreciate it, Gardner. I’ll let you know when we’ve got more info and a departure time.”

*If it really is the Team, then you know half the League’s gonna try and join you two as well.* And sadly, John was once again correct in his assessment of their fellow heroes.

“If push comes to shove, I’ll accept two passengers, one each for me and Guy to look after. But it’ll have to be people who aren’t vital to protecting their cities here, ‘cause there’s no telling how long a trip like this could take...”

Chapter Text

The Team disappeared from Earth three days days ago. The Young Lanterns have been travelling through space for two. The pair of Green Lanterns from Sector 2814, and their passengers, departed from the Watchtower six hours past, and have managed to not (yet) kill each other...

“I swear, if that pig-headed man makes one more comment about the “benefits of my outfit”, I’m going to rip him in half,” Black Canary muttered darkly to her companion.

“I’ll help you with that.” Catwoman flexed her hand, exposing the clawed tips on each of the glove’s digits. “Gladly.”

The two ladies were sitting in the front and back seats of a sleek jet construct Hal had made, expressly for their comfort as the quartet flew through space. He had been a perfect gentleman, ignoring his natural flirting tendencies around the two spoken-for women. Gardner, on the other hand, was steadily inching his way towards painful death via vivisection.

Biggest upside for working with a pair of Green Lanterns? They were too stubborn to give up anytime soon on finding the kids.

Biggest downside of working with one Green Lantern in particular? He wouldn’t. Take no. For an answer.

Neither Batman nor Green Arrow (nor a lot of the other League members) had been happy with letting the two ladies be the ones to head off into the unknown after the Team. There had been arguments galore of you aren’t suited for fighting in space, you’ll be stranded should you get separated from the Lanterns, and Selina’s particular favorite, it’s too dangerous for you.

When Bruce had been stupid enough to pull that one out, she’d stalked right up to him, and purred in the man’s ear: “Who will it be more dangerous for at home should you really try stop my leaving?” Unsurprisingly, he eventually folded, though not until after further debates were made.

By the end of it, Canary was accepted because she was the Team’s primary trainer, and the adult closest emotionally to Superboy should the rage of the Red ring consume him. And as for Catwoman, well, all she had to do was point out that no single other person besides Batman had a prayer of defeating Robin in a fight, Yellow ring or otherwise.
And the League definitely knew which color went to each teen, after Hal was able to receive descriptions of the seven young Lanterns from the captain of the ship they’d rescued. At first, the meanings behind the various choosings had meant nothing to the other heroes... But that was before John Stewart explained.

“The different rings each stand for a separate emotion, and as the Team continue to wear them some of those individual emotions will grow stronger and stronger until nothing else remains of their personalities.”

“Who’s most at risk?” Batman was the first to ask.

“Superboy will slowly be filled with rage, until that’s all he can feel; Kid Flash is going to get greedier and greedier, unable to cooperate with others as he sees them as a threat to whatever he’s gathered for himself. Zatanna’s compassion will grow, until she literally can’t do anything but help others, a slave to her need to help and understand; and Miss Martian, should anything disrupt her expressions of love, will enter the most terrifying fury known to the universe - that of a woman scorned.”

“...And the other three?”

“They’re closer to the center of the spectrum, and shouldn’t be affected quite so bad, or at all, in Artemis’s case. But Aqualad will get more and more optimistic, finding it harder to see any dark sides or potentials, which isn’t so great in a team leader responsible for coming up with plans. Robin... He’s probably going to get really into the spreading fear thing, until most if not all of his actions literally have to scare or intimidate others.”

Everyone remained silent for a few moments, considering all that the Team would be going through shortly. And once the consequences of delaying had been laid before them, Hal, Guy, Dinah and Selina were given the all clear to depart in less than an hour.

“Y’know, I’m really starting to wish we’d had just a little more time to get ready,” Catwoman mentioned as she glanced out the window, watching the stars stream by. “Would’ve been nice to have been able to grab a book or something.”

In the seat in front of her, Dinah sighed. “I know. Maybe those pictures I’ve been meaning to organize into a photo album for the kids...”

“Oh?”

“I haven’t mentioned that to you yet? Got the idea from Ollie, actually, when he was complaining last week about the unfairness of Roy growing up so fast. I got Tornado to help me start sifting through photographs and camera stills of the Team from the Mountain’s security system.”

“That’s a wonderful idea - how far along have you gotten?”

“From the first day that Batman told them about the Team - we’ve got a great shot of the boys’ faces when they heard the words ‘five of you’ - up to a couple weeks after Artemis joined.”

“I heard about her first night - do you by any chance have a picture of Wally’s dramatic entrance? Dick’s told me about it, and he couldn’t stop laughing the entire time...”

“As a matter of fact, that’s one of the first things we grabbed.” Selina could hear the smile in Dinah’s voice. “To make up for it, though, I want to make sure we get plenty of the birthday party the Team threw for him.”

“They’ll love that.”

“I sure hope so. I want to put it together in time for Christmas, sort of a joint present to the whole group.”

“Anytime you need another pair of eyes, be sure to let me know.”

As the two women talked within the jet, the pair of Lanterns chatted outside of it. Or rather, Guy chattered away, with Hal making occasional noises even as he attempted to ignore the majority of what the younger man was saying.

Eventually, though, the elder Lantern had had enough. “Look, Gardner... Would you take it the wrong way if I asked you to shut up for a while?” Guy immediately grew red-faced, but rather than making a rude comment in return went ahead and clenched his jaw closed. Hal got to revel in the silence for almost an hour before his companion finally exploded.

“If you didn’t want company, then why’d you agree to let me come with you?!”

“Because,” Hal sighed. “If you’re ever going to be accepted in the League, you’ve got to figure out how to play well with others.”

“Huh?”

Groaning, Hall rubbed at his forehead and considered how best to explain it to the younger Lantern. “To put it simply, Guy, you’ve got a temper. Don’t think about the consequences of your actions too much, either. And John and I know, if we ask you to take on some official League duties and spend extended periods of time on the Watchtower, that something is going to get dismantled or blown up in short order.” He hurried to go on before the other man could object. “So, when things like this come up, I’m fine to include you so long as you practice at professionalism. Which so far hasn’t happened on this trip.”

“What! I’ve been perfectly professional-”

“Complimenting Black Canary on the ‘benefits’ of her costume? Seriously? And don’t get me started on your attitude towards Catwoman - don’t you realize pissing them off is about as stupid as it gets? Heck, if Wonder Woman was here, she’d have drop-kicked you to Oa not even two hours into the trip.”

Guy descended into mutinous grumbles after that, but he didn’t bother to argue the point, and Hal settled back into focusing on maintaining the jet construct and in keeping their group moving at lightspeed.

“Uh, guys?”

“What’s up, Emerald?”

“My ring’s acting weird.”

The others slowed down at her words, until the entire group had come to a stop. They all gathered around the blonde girl, who stared at the ring on her outstretched hand with no little amount of concern. It was emitting bursts of green sparks and, strangely enough, a garbled, frizzing noise.

“You sure you’re not doing this yourself?” Zipster asked. He yelped when Emerald’s foot collided with his shin.

“No, idiot. That guide never said anything about these weapons making sound.”

“Static,” Shield suddenly said. “It’s called static.”

“Maybe, your ring is receiving a signal of some kind?” Miss Green offered, drifting a little closer. “Try focusing, maybe you can give form to whatever it is.”

Emerald took a deep breath, her eyes narrowed with concentration. A few moments later, her ring’s sparks solidified into a projection of a screen, out of which a voice began speaking. *Lantern Vassit, report. You are forty deca-toles past scheduled check-in. What is the reason for this delay?*

The teens all exchanged wide-eyed glances.

“What the heck am I supposed to say?” Emerald hissed, shoulders raised defensively. “Who or what is a Lantern Vassit?!”

“Probably whoever our guide got your ring from,” Bird muttered. He shifted to float upside down over the girl’s head, peering down at the blank screen and extending a hand to poke at it. “Wonder how this works...?”

*Lantern Vassit, if you do not respond within a tole, the Guardians will send another Lantern to your location. You have been given ample warning in the past concerning late check-ins, and if this newest infraction is not due to an emergency, you will be recalled to Oa for re-training.*

Bird snickered. “Sounds like this Vassit-person has a habit of being tardy.”

“Also sounds like they’re supposed to still have the green ring,” Indigo said, “We really ought to let these Guardians know that’s not the case.”

“Why?” Zipster asked, crossing his arms. “They’d probably want to give the ring back to Vassit-whoever, and we need it more. Besides, didn’t you hear them say there’s another Lantern on the way? We can explain once they’ve caught up to us.”

“He makes a point,” Ocean spoke up, cutting off Indigo’s protest. “We need to keep moving, troubling as this development is. Emerald?”

When she let the screen fade away, the girl’s ring didn’t resume spitting sparks or static. “Looks like I’m good, now that the message has been delivered.”

“Good. Then let us resume our journey.”

*Lantern Jordan, report.*

Wincing, Hal let his ring form a screen, and opened up a two-way channel back to Oa. “This is Jordan, I’m pursuing the group of seven Lantern youths along with Lantern Gardner and two members of Earth’s Justice League.” Well, sort of. Canary definitely was, even if Catwoman’s exact status within the League was a bit... undefined.

He saw Guy looking at him with a raised eyebrow, but Hal resolutely kept his gaze pointing forward.

*You and Lantern Gardner are well outside of your Sector, Jordan. Our orders to the Corps regarding the group of rogue Lanterns has already been stated-*

“It’s a bit more personal for us, I’m afraid. We have reason to suspect that these kids are a group of young heroes being mentored by the League who went missing without explanation a few days ago. The descriptions and the timing fit - we hope to catch up to them and find out for certain one way or another.”

*...Understood. Inform Gardner he will not need to post his own report. Good hunting, Jordan.*

Sighing in relief, Hal let the connection to Oa fade, glad not to have gained a new source of trouble in arguing with the Guardians over the unsanctioned trip.

“Why’d they say I don’t need to make my own report? I give great reports!”

Then again, maybe that would’ve been preferable to listening to Guy whine...

After a few more hours spent travelling at lightspeed, the group made another pitstop on an empty moon to relax for a bit, breaking out some of the rations they’d been given after the impromptu pirate battle. Zipster, of course, got bored before anyone else was ready to head out again.

“Come onnnn, when are you guys gonna finish?” He whined, blurring back and forth between those who were still eating.

“We’ll be done when we’re done,” Emerald growled, nearly managing to trip him up. Rather than fall flat on his face, however, Zipster used his ring to float upwards.

“Just ignore him,” Indigo said, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Emerald’s.

“Easier said than done.” The blonde took another bite of her ration bar, gaze inevitably lifting to where Bird had joined Zipster, the smaller boy cackling as they dodged around one another. But then, beyond the pair, something else caught Emerald's eye.

“Kid, Bird, look out!”

Just in time, the two darted out of the way for something Big to hurtle down through the space they’d been occupying. An explosion of green light hit the ground on front of where the other five teens sat, momentarily blinding them.

When Emerald blinked her eyes clear, she lowered her arms, and stared.

The massive pink alien, wearing a green and black jumpsuit with the same symbol as her own, stared back.

“You,” it rumbled. “Are not Vassit.”